The Girl He Chose (A Paige King FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 2)

By Blake Pierce

Paige King, after receiving her Ph.D. in forensic psychology, has been asked to join the FBI’s elite BAU unit. When a deranged killer on death row seems to know more than he lets on about an active case, Paige is summoned to enter his mind and crack the case—before the final hours that lead to his execution.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery.”
—Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

THE GIRL HE CHOSE is book #2 in a new series by #1 bestselling and critically acclaimed mystery and suspense author Blake Pierce.

The death row killer’s clues soon lead Paige down a rabbit hole of red herrings and dead ends, and time is running out for her to save the next victim.

Can she piece the clues together in time?

Or has she finally met her match?

A complex psychological crime thriller full of twists and turns and packed with heart-pounding suspense, the PAIGE KING mystery series will make you fall in love with a brilliant new female protagonist and keep you turning pages late into the night.

Book #3 in the series—THE GIRL HE TOOK—is now also available.

“An edge of your seat thriller in a new series that keeps you turning pages! ...So many twists, turns and red herrings… I can't wait to see what happens next.”
—Reader review (Her Last Wish)

“A strong, complex story about two FBI agents trying to stop a serial killer. If you want an author to capture your attention and have you guessing, yet trying to put the pieces together, Pierce is your author!”
—Reader review (Her Last Wish)


“A typical Blake Pierce twisting, turning, roller coaster ride suspense thriller. Will have you turning the pages to the last sentence of the last chapter!!!”
—Reader review (City of Prey)

“Right from the start we have an unusual protagonist that I haven't seen done in this genre before. The action is nonstop… A very atmospheric novel that will keep you turning pages well into the wee hours.”
—Reader review (City of Prey)

“Everything that I look for in a book… a great plot, interesting characters, and grabs your interest right away. The book moves along at a breakneck pace and stays that way until the end. Now on go I to book two!”
—Reader review (Girl, Alone)

“Exciting, heart pounding, edge of your seat book… a must read for mystery and suspense readers!”
—Reader review (Girl, Alone)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blake Pierce
• Release date: Jun 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781094376158

Book preview

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T H E

G I R L

H E

C H O S E

(A Paige King Mystery—Book Two)

B L A K E   P I E R C E

Blake Pierce

Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising twenty four books; of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising fifteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising four books; of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising nine books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising eleven books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the VALERIE LAW mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); of the PAIGE KING mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); and of the MAY MOORE suspense thriller series, comprising three books (and counting).

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

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Copyright © 2022 by Blake Pierce. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright Igor Vitkovskiy used under license from Shutterstock.com.

BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE

MAY MOORE SUSPENSE THRILLER

NEVER RUN (Book #1)

NEVER TELL (Book #2)

NEVER LIVE (Book #3)

PAIGE KING MYSTERY SERIES

THE GIRL HE PINED (Book #1)

THE GIRL HE CHOSE (Book #2)

THE GIRL HE TOOK (Book #3)

THE GIRL HE WISHED (Book #4)

THE GIRL HE CROWNED (Book #5)

THE GIRL HE WATCHED (Book #6)

VALERIE LAW MYSTERY SERIES

NO MERCY (Book #1)

NO PITY (Book #2)

NO FEAR (Book #3

RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES

HER LAST WISH (Book #1)

HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)

HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)

HER LAST FEAR (Book #4)

HER LAST CHOICE (Book #5)

HER LAST BREATH (Book #6)

AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES

CITY OF PREY (Book #1)

CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)

CITY OF BONES (Book #3)

CITY OF GHOSTS (Book #4)

CITY OF DEATH (Book #5)

CITY OF VICE (Book #6)

A YEAR IN EUROPE

A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)

DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)

VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)

A FATALITY IN SPAIN (Book #4)

ELLA DARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

GIRL, ALONE (Book #1)

GIRL, TAKEN (Book #2)

GIRL, HUNTED (Book #3)

GIRL, SILENCED (Book #4)

GIRL, VANISHED (Book 5)

GIRL ERASED (Book #6)

GIRL, FORSAKEN (Book #7)

GIRL, TRAPPED (Book #8)

GIRL, EXPENDABLE (Book #9)

GIRL, ESCAPED (Book #10)

GIRL, HIS (Book #11)

LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

ALREADY GONE (Book #1)

ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)

ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)

ALREADY MISSING (Book #4)

ALREADY DEAD (Book #5)

ALREADY TAKEN (Book #6)

ALREADY CHOSEN (Book #7)

ALREADY LOST (Book #8)

ALREADY HIS (Book #9)

EUROPEAN VOYAGE COZY MYSTERY SERIES

MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (Book #1)

DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) (Book #2)

CRIME (AND LAGER) (Book #3)

MISFORTUNE (AND GOUDA) (Book #4)

CALAMITY (AND A DANISH) (Book #5)

MAYHEM (AND HERRING) (Book #6)

ADELE SHARP MYSTERY SERIES

LEFT TO DIE (Book #1)

LEFT TO RUN (Book #2)

LEFT TO HIDE (Book #3)

LEFT TO KILL (Book #4)

LEFT TO MURDER (Book #5)

LEFT TO ENVY (Book #6)

LEFT TO LAPSE (Book #7)

LEFT TO VANISH (Book #8)

LEFT TO HUNT (Book #9)

LEFT TO FEAR (Book #10)

LEFT TO PREY (Book #11)

LEFT TO LURE (Book #12)

LEFT TO CRAVE (Book #13)

LEFT TO LOATHE (Book #14)

LEFT TO HARM (Book #15)

THE AU PAIR SERIES

ALMOST GONE (Book#1)

ALMOST LOST (Book #2)

ALMOST DEAD (Book #3)

ZOE PRIME MYSTERY SERIES

FACE OF DEATH (Book#1)

FACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

FACE OF FEAR (Book #3)

FACE OF MADNESS (Book #4)

FACE OF FURY (Book #5)

FACE OF DARKNESS (Book #6)

A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)

THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)

THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)

THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)

THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)

THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)

THE PERFECT AFFAIR (Book #7)

THE PERFECT ALIBI (Book #8)

THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (Book #9)

THE PERFECT DISGUISE (Book #10)

THE PERFECT SECRET (Book #11)

THE PERFECT FAÇADE (Book #12)

THE PERFECT IMPRESSION (Book #13)

THE PERFECT DECEIT (Book #14)

THE PERFECT MISTRESS (Book #15)

THE PERFECT IMAGE (Book #16)

THE PERFECT VEIL (Book #17)

THE PERFECT INDISCRETION (Book #18)

THE PERFECT RUMOR (Book #19)

THE PERFECT COUPLE (Book #20)

THE PERFECT MURDER (Book #21)

THE PERFECT HUSBAND (Book #22)

THE PERFECT SCANDAL (Book #23)

THE PERFECT MASK (Book #24)

CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

NEXT DOOR (Book #1)

A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)

CUL DE SAC (Book #3)

SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)

HOMECOMING (Book #5)

TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)

KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES

IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)

IF SHE SAW (Book #2)

IF SHE RAN (Book #3)

IF SHE HID (Book #4)

IF SHE FLED (Book #5)

IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)

IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)

THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES

WATCHING (Book #1)

WAITING (Book #2)

LURING (Book #3)

TAKING (Book #4)

STALKING (Book #5)

KILLING (Book #6)

RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES

ONCE GONE (Book #1)

ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)

ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)

ONCE LURED (Book #4)

ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)

ONCE PINED (Book #6)

ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)

ONCE COLD (Book #8)

ONCE STALKED (Book #9)

ONCE LOST (Book #10)

ONCE BURIED (Book #11)

ONCE BOUND (Book #12)

ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)

ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)

ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)

ONCE MISSED (Book #16)

ONCE CHOSEN (Book #17)

MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES

BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)

BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)

BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)

BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)

BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)

BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)

BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)

BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)

BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)

BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)

BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)

BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)

BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)

BEFORE HE HARMS (Book #14)

AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES

CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)

CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)

CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)

CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)

CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)

CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)

KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES

A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)

A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)

A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)

A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER ONE

Marta was fixing a faucet when she heard the noise.

She liked to think of herself as a personal assistant. That was what it said on her contract, and it was probably how Mrs. Estrom would have described her if she’d had cause to do so in company. That was the respectable term, the one that didn’t make Mrs. Estrom feel like an old woman.

Marta knew the truth of it, though: most of the time, she was a glorified janitor and housekeeper. She cooked, she cleaned. She saw to the house and made sure that Mrs. Estrom had everything she needed in order to get on with her days without thinking about anything mundane. The formidable matriarch of the extended Estrom family had far better things to do with her time, spending it on everything from seeing important political figures to organizing elegant soirees.

Right now, she was asleep. Mrs. Estrom liked to go to bed at precisely ten thirty, and to be woken at seven. Marta found that arrangement usually gave her at least an hour or so to herself, although in this case she was using part of that hour to try to effect repairs to a dripping faucet in the kitchen. Mrs. Estrom could afford to get a plumber in to replace it a thousand times over, but Marta had quickly found that for small things, her employer really didn’t see the point of bringing in specialists.

Probably because Mrs. Estrom wasn’t the one having to do the work.

There was a lot of work when it came to the crumbling old house that had been the Estrom family’s home for generations, back since great-great Grandpa Estrom had first made his money on the stock market. It was huge and twisting, big enough that, back in the day, it probably had a small army of staff to maintain it.

These days, there were still staff, but they only came in periodically to do what was needed, and Marta was the one who had to arrange it when they did, making the calls, organizing the schedules. Certainly, when major repairs were needed, Marta had to stand there in her hard hat, overseeing any contractors. The rest of the time, it was just her, seeing to any problems that arose.

When she’d taken the job, she’d assumed that she would need to know about schedule management and talking to important people, basic first aid in case Mrs. Estrom’s medical conditions got out of hand, and the ability to coordinate with her various business interests, not about the inner workings of butterfly valves or minor electrical repairs.

Which all sounded as if Marta was complaining, but honestly, she found that she loved her job. Mrs. Estrom was about as generous an employer as it was possible to find, and Marta had discovered that she liked knowing that she could take care of all the small things around the place without any problems. Whenever her mother asked why Marta wasn’t going off to do something with that business degree that she’d put so much effort into, Marta just pointed out that this job paid better than half the low earning positions she’d had trying to get a foot on the ladder in the business world, and probably meant that she would have better connections at the end of it, too.

Marta had just gotten the faucet apart, ready to replace the faulty ceramic cartridge, when she heard the sound of someone moving about the house.

Mrs. Estrom, is everything ok?

Her employer didn’t usually get up in the night. She slept with an ease and soundness that Marta couldn’t help admiring, given that Marta mostly woke up feeling even more tired than she’d been when she went to sleep.

So if she was moving around, maybe there was something wrong. Marta had been trained to deal with a whole range of medical emergencies, since that was a big part of the reason that she was there. Mrs. Estrom’s mind might still be as sharp as ever, but at ninety, her body was slowly failing her, one minor medical complaint at a time. If Marta weren’t there, she suspected that Mrs. Estrom would quickly find herself in a home of some sort, and as her employer had said, that would kill her quicker than anything else could.

Mrs. Estrom? Do you need something? Marta asked as she headed out of the kitchen into the hall. The sounds were coming from the drawing room. Had her employer gotten up in the night because she wanted something from there? Usually, she found it more convenient to call down to Marta in those cases, using the phone she’d given Marta that was exclusively for communications between the two of them, so that there was never a chance of someone else being on the line. It meant that Marta sometimes had to get up in the night, just to fetch something from downstairs.

Still, Mrs. Estrom was… well, herself, and that meant that she did very much as she pleased. If she wished to wander around her own house at night, that was very much her business, not Marta’s. Marta’s business was to be there and make sure that everything around her life ran smoothly.

Marta headed for the drawing room. The light was off, so Marta flicked it on, looking around the expensive antique furniture that had been collected over several lifetimes in the family. There was no one there now, but a decanter on a small side table had been knocked over, sending a spill of what Marta knew to be particularly expensive brandy out over the floor.

Damn it! Marta said, and hurried forward, trying to find something to clean it up with. Thankfully, she already had a cloth ready, on hand for wiping any excess water from around the faucet. Kneeling, she started to mop it up, imagining what Mrs. Estrom would say when she saw all of this. Would she assume that Marta was drinking on the job? Or had she been the one to cause this? Maybe she was down here somewhere. Maybe she’d had some kind of medical emergency and knocked over the brandy while she staggered off out of the room.

Marta was still worrying about that when she heard the creak of a floorboard behind her. She started to turn, assuming that her employer was in there after all, but a hand grabbed her hair, yanking her head back sharply, forcing her to look up at the ceiling.

Marta cried out as she saw the flash of a knife above her, but it was too late to do anything. She tried to reach out to stop it, but it was already plunging down into her, agony bursting through her as the weapon slid in and out of her as mechanically as a sewing machine.

Marta, is everything all right dear? Mrs. Estrom called from upstairs.

Marta didn’t have any breath to answer. The knifeman shoved her down to the carpet, and the last thing Marta saw was the sight of her blood mingling with the spilled brandy.

CHAPTER TWO

Paige King barely ducked out of the way of a blow aimed at her head, feeling it pass by just an inch, the whisper of air as it passed scraping across her skin. Another strike came at her, and she lifted her hands to block instinctively, only to find the weight of her attacker barreling into her.

The difference in size was massive, and decisive, impossible to hold back. It meant that she found herself tumbling to the floor, with the bulk of her opponent on top of her. She tried to struggle out from underneath him, the way she’d been shown, but his weight meant that there was no room to execute a simple standup, and her attempts to flip him over to create some room achieved nothing.

Paige saw the moment when her attacker reached back behind him, and she knew without being told what that meant. She’d trained for this.

Knife! she called out, reaching to try to control the weapon arm.

Paige wasn’t quite quick enough, and she had a moment of absolute terror as the arm came around, the blade a blur as it struck her again and again. Paige felt herself starting to go limp in response to the blows.

Don’t stop! her instructor yelled from somewhere above her. Keep fighting!

Paige did her best, kicking away at her opponent, creating space, but then he was back on top of her, still stabbing.

Ok, break!

Paige had rarely been as grateful for anything as she was for those two words. It meant that the large, heavily padded figure of her simulated attacker got off her, while she got to haul herself up off the mats at the FBI academy’s training facility.

Around her, other FBI trainees stood waiting for their turn at the side of the mats or working with padded opponents of their own, fighting hard as they tried to keep them at bay. It struck Paige as deeply unfair somehow that all the attackers got to wear massive amounts of padding, while she got none; but she suspected that the unfairness was a deliberate part of the drill. She would have bruises on her ribs from the rubber knife in the morning.

You have to be more aggressive, King, the instructor said. You have to take down the suspect, not just wait for him to kill you.

Yes, sir, Paige said, but honestly, she felt as though that kind of aggression was the one part of this that didn’t come easily to her. It was a part of herself she always flinched away from. In the background, she could see other students elbowing and punching, lashing out with everything they had. She wasn’t sure if she really had that in her.

Ok, back to the line. And when it’s your turn again, I want to see you be more proactive about all this.

Paige went back to the side, standing among all the other FBI trainees in their sweatpants and FBI t-shirts. Paige had never worn a uniform before, had never even been in the Girl Scouts, and it felt strange to be just one more almost identical part of a big machine.

She wondered what anyone from college would think if they could see her now, red hair slick with sweat, youthful features flushed with the effort of training